Our Mission

 To present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission.

Psalm 25.3 records, I’ve thrown in my lot with You; You won’t embarrass me, will You? Or let my enemies get the best of me? Don’t embarrass any of us Who went out on a limb for You. It’s the traitors who should be humiliated.

There are many places in the world where a man who identifies with Jesus can lose his property and his life. Many such places remain today and many Christians live in these places under constant pressure and persecution. Not so in America.

Yet we fear greatly to identify closely with Jesus the Savior. This fear has led to compromise of God’s values in the public venue. We feared as leaders so we allowed prayer to be removed from the public venue. We feared as leaders so we allowed Christmas and Easter symbols to be removed from the public venue. We feared as leaders so we allowed our public bathrooms to be gender neutral even within our public schools. The list goes on.

The fear we hold is of losing friends, customers, honor because our media despises God and publicly shames those who identify with Him. Those who do identify with Jesus look up and call out, ‘You wont embarrass me will You?’ ‘You wont let my enemies get the best of me will You?’ The answer will be ‘No’ in the long term but perhaps ‘Yes’ in the short term.

God Himself, when He lived among us as one of us, was shamed, maligned and mistreated. He warned us to expect the same. He also promised that those who were mistreated for His Name’s sake would be greatly rewarded in His kingdom. He also warned that those who were ashamed of Him in this world, of them He would be ashamed upon His return to collect all those who loved Him.

American Christians need greater resolve, they need a Spirit not of fear, but a willingness to work for, promote and identify with their Savior if we are to see our culture become increasingly more like His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

His Opportunities

1. CBMC is trying something new in 2018: Monday Manna live. 10.00am Mike will explain today’s scripture in person. Catch it here
2. Michigan Prayer Breakfast May 17 with Focus on the Family president Jim Daly. Details HERE
3. Next Special Luncheon is May 24. Register Here. Special pricing for unchurched veterans!
4.  CBMC is looking for more ministry partners in 2018. Join the Team Today.  COMMIT now.

 CBMC Central Michigan 6011 W. St. Joseph Ste. 401 Lansing 48917  / 517 481 5996 www.lansing.cbmc.com

MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

April 30, 2018

The Workplace – And The Sabbath

by Jim Mathis

Many of us struggle with not having enough time to get things done. Employers often expect us to be on call 24 hours a day. Self-employed people have an even greater challenge in trying to get away for a few days – or even a few hours. Studies have shown that productivity drops dramatically if we do not take time to rest to “sharpen our saw” to borrow a lumber industry term. Many of my best ideas for my business came while I was on vacation: away from work, getting a new perspective, gaining a new thought from a totally random source. 

In the biblical creation story, God created the world in six days and then He rested on the seventh day. The idea of resting on the seventh day was codified when the Ten Commandments were handed down to Moses. Jesus clarified the Sabbath by teaching that honoring the Sabbath is not about following a set of rules; the seventh day is for man, He said, a time of rest, reflection, and recuperation – time to slowing down and enjoying God’s world. 

After Jesus was crucified, He rose from the dead on the first day of the week. Because of that, the first Christians began to meet together on the first day of the week to celebrate His resurrection. Over the centuries, the idea of the Sabbath for Christians has shifted from the seventh day to the first day of the week. This has always been a source of conflict and confusion for me. Should we rest on the seventh day, Saturday, or the first day, Sunday? Or maybe our calendars are just labeled wrong. 

Recently I have begun to realize that both days are right. We need to honor the seventh day of the week as a day of rest. My wife calls it a REAL Saturday, meaning a day to rest, reflect, restore, spend time with friends, have a relaxing meal, and simply enjoy being alive. Sunday then becomes the day to honor Jesus Christ and remember the resurrection. It is time to begin each week by giving the first few hours to God, sort of the first fruits of our time at the start of our week. 

Saturday, the seventh day of the week, becomes the day of rest. Sunday, the first day of the week, becomes a time to worship God and get a good start on the week. People in vocational ministry, or those engaged in any kind of volunteer position at their church, understand that Sunday is often the most stressful day of the week, not at all a day for resting. Even those without official responsibilities know just getting the family ready for church and arriving there on time can be a hassle. 

With this in mind, I often start my actual work week on Sunday afternoon or evening, planning my weekly schedule and getting a few things in order. This makes sense for me, realizing I have rested on Saturday and have already given the first few hours of the week to the Lord. Now it is time to work until the next Saturday, the true Sabbath – a real day for resting – knowing I am mentally, physically, and spiritually ready for a new week. 

I am not suggesting this practice my wife and I follow should be normative for everyone, but it works for me. We take time for actual rest, as well as designate time for formal worship. It is how we apply what Jesus said: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”(Mark 2:27).

The key is that we do make certain to experience the proper rest, a time for physical, mental, emotional – and spiritual – recharging. Perhaps the best-known psalm tells us about the Shepherd (our Lord) and the care He provides for His sheep (us). The first two verses of Psalm 23 tell us, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul.” God wants us fully rested, eager and prepared for whatever He calls us to do, and for any challenges coming our way.

 Jim Mathis is the owner of a photography studio in Overland Park, Kansas, specializing in executive, commercial and theatrical portraits, and operates a school of photography. He formerly was a coffee shop manager and executive director of CBMC in Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri.

CBMC Central Michigan 6011 W. St. Joseph Ste. 401 Lansing 48917  / 517 481 5996  lansing.cbmc.com

 MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

April 30, 2018

 Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. When you think of “the Sabbath,” what comes to your mind?

1. The tradition of observing a formal day for Sabbath rest has been forgotten or abandoned by many. Do you consciously observe a Sabbath day of rest? If so, what does it look like for you? If not, do you have a specific reason for not doing so?

1. Some people view the command to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (the fourth of the Ten Commandments) as a legalistic practice that no longer applies to us in the 21st How do you feel about that?

1. What are some of the consequences of not intentionally observing a day for rest? What do you think of designating one day – perhaps a Saturday – for actual rest, and then following that with a time for worshiping God to start Sunday morning, before resuming work?

  NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more about this subject, consider the following passages: Psalm 37:7,25,34; 46:10, 116:7, 127:2; Proverbs 10:29, 14:26; Ezekiel 34:15; Hebrews 4:8-11

 CBMC Central Michigan 6011 W. St. Joseph Ste. 401 Lansing 48917  / 517 481 5996  lansing.cbmc.com